Saturday, July 2, 2022

Good News, Bad News and a PSA about Lyme Disease Prevention

Disclaimer: This post contains an affiliate link.

So the good news is that I didn't break my pinky after last week's tumble on the trails. It's still a little sore, but thank goodness nothing serious. However, I have had some worsening knee pain since then. I must have bruised it when I hit the ground, but it has been randomly protesting all week. Interestingly, it doesn't hurt when I run. Things all came to a head on Friday, when I woke up with pain in all my joints. Yep, RA decided to flare, I guess, forcing me to dial it back. With a 5k planned for Sunday, I could only hope that things would settle down.  

Thursday's Strength Session
 
Weekly Rundown:
Sunday: Ice Age Trail 8 miles, 1600 ft of vert
Monday: CrossFit
Tuesday: pool running
Wednesday: Trail run 5 miles
Thursday: Strength Training with SJ
Friday: run 4 miles
Saturday: rest

June miles: 87.2 miles

Running

The sun was out when I woke up Sunday morning at the lake. It was too breezy for a ski, so I laced up and drove to the Gibraltar segment of the Ice Age Trail. This segment is actually 2 segments with a 1 mile connecting road. I decided to park my car at the segment where I wanted to finish up at. I know that when I'm done, I want to be done. From there I ran to Gibraltar rock and made the climb up to the top. I had the trail mostly to myself. After retrieving my water bottle from a ledge below the bluff--there was a little path down to the spot where it landed--I made my way down around the back of the rock. A fallen tree blocked the path but I made my way past it. After completing this segment, I returned to the connecting road and ran the other segment. This is a much less used trail, so I was surprised to see the hikers I passed earlier negotiating the terrain! I was tired and happy to see my car after this run, but so glad I was able to do it!


I had another early start for Wednesday's run at the forest preserve. It was a beautiful morning with very comfortable conditions as I cautiously made my way around the single tracks. My plan was to keep it between 5-6 miles and this time I stuck to that goal, wrapping it up at 5 miles. I continue to be amazed at the foliage on the trails. Some of the single tracks are very narrow and I brushed up against the weeds as I made my way forward. 


Friday morning was warm and humid. As I mentioned above, I woke up with a lot of joint pain. I decided to give it a go, but I was fatigued and I had to stop a few times to walk. I finally turned around at 2 miles and headed home to get ready for work. I knew I had a full schedule of patients and that makes it hard to call off. I did text my manager to let her know how I was feeling. Fortunately, ibuprofen and my CBD salve took the edge off the pain and I was able to get through an uneventful day.

CrossFit/Strength

I snuck a peek at Monday's WOD before I left the house. I saw rope climbs in the strength portion, so I put on long pants. No need to have to worry about rope burns when I'm trying to get my rope climbing confidence back! I intended to do half climbs, but I felt so strong after my first one that I decided to go all the way to the top on #2. I was sharing the rope with another woman who also fell in the past, so we were encouraging each other. I did a total of 6.5 rope climbs, alternating these in the EMOM with 12 atomic situps. The MetCon was a 12 minute AMRAP, a chipper of double under 75-60-45-30-15, which I had to double since I do single jumps. It takes about the same amount of time, so it's fine. We alternated these with burpees: 15-12-9-6-3. There was a 100m run in between each set. I finished before time was called!


On Thursday when I met with Sammy Jo, she told me we were going to do something fun. She rolled the tractor tire outside onto the grass and had me do 4 sets of 5 tire flips and 10 sledgehammer tire hits per arm. I wasn't allowed to stop and rest during the sets and this got my heart pumping and the sweat flowing. I was able to rest between sets, though. After that, we went back inside for 3 sets each of 10 back rack forward lunges (65#) and 10 GHD sit-ups. Those lunges were hard! And my knee was very unhappy when we finished, so I took it east the rest of the day.

PSA: Lyme disease prevention

After my run on Wednesday, I picked a tick off my arm. Did you know that the deer ticks that cause Lyme disease are very small? They are about the size of a poppy seed. Before I head into the woods, I always use repellant that contains picaridin. In fact, I keep the can in my car. You can also use DEET. So-called natural repellents do not repel ticks and should not be used. As soon as I get home from the woods, I shower and wash my hair.

I LOVE this graphic because it illustrates how small the deer ticks that cause disease really are!

The tick must be attached for at least 36 hours to cause disease. If you have a tick that is attached to you and is engorged, contact your medical provider to discuss prophylaxis.

If you have a tic that is attached, you should remove it using tweezers that you place as close to the skin as possible. Pull straight up. If it breaks off, you can leave the mouth parts attached to your skin. Clean the area with soap and water. You can save it for identification, but I tell my patients that isn't necessary because I'm going to prescribe prophylaxis anyways. 

Some people don't realize they've had a tick bite, but they develop symptoms of such as fever, malaise, or body aches. Some develop a bullseye rash at the site of the tick bite. These are signs of active Lyme disease and require testing and treatment with antibiotics. Untreated Lyme disease can progress into long-term illness.

There are several other tick-borne illnesses in the US, but in the Midwest, Lyme Disease is the most common. For more information, the CDC website is very helpful



How was your week? Do you have anything planned for the holiday weekend? We're home this weekend--it gets too crazy at the lake on holidays. We've got plans to meet my parents for dinner and a waterskiing show (!) at a local lake. I'm also having lunch with some friends. Oh, and a 5k on Sunday. Nothing exciting, but that's how I like it!

I'm linking up with Deborah and Kim for the Weekly Rundown. 








30 comments :

  1. Glad your pinky is not broken but I hope your knee is ok. Way to get back up there on the rope!

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    1. I'm not sure what is going on with my knee. I taped it this morning for my race and it felt fine. So, most likely it's nothing serious. I'm a great medical provider, aren't I? :p

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  2. I do worry about tics bc we have so many deer around! Good for you for getting back on the ropes what a great confidence builder. Enjoy your 5K. It's been a while since I've done one

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    1. Me too and I did better than I hoped! Still went out too fast, but hey, that's how I roll. I reined it in tho.

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  3. Great reminder about ticks. We are at Dustin's family cabin up north in Wisconsin and there are a lot of them. Usually wood ticks but I am sure there are deer ticks too...I'm all about the deet and permethrin

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    1. I use Picaridin instead of DEET because it repels the biting flies too. They still chase me, but at least they don't bite me.

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  4. Yikes, I didn't realize those ticks were THAT itty-bitty! The poppy seed comparison is a good one. I hope your 5K went well!

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    1. I love that graphic and I share it with my families in my clinic too, lol. Not sure the muffin man would be too thrilled with me, lol

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  5. Just saw your 5k on Strava - looks like you had a great day!
    We're going hiking in the morning, then it's pool time and bbq before watching fireworks from our house - we can usually see multiple shows without dealing with any crowds.

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  6. Well.... I think I'd rather have a broken pinky than a knee problem. But, it sounds like it isn't affecting your running so that's good. I'm very relieved that the bad news wasn't that you had lyme disease! It sounds like you take all the correct precautions though. I've been assuming I don't have to worry about lyme disease in Florida but I should probably check that out. I know there are deer around the trail where I run. Thanks for the PSA! And good luck on your race.

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    1. So there's Lyme disease in Florida but it's people who visit endemic areas and get diagnosed in Florida. The risk is very low in Florida. But you do have other things to worry about...like the worlds' largest python in the Everglades! (screaming internally)

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  7. As far as I know, I've never had a tick attached to me. ME is absolutely horrible when it comes to ticks, but even there, somehow I managed to evade them. Lyme disease is absolutely no joke.

    I hope you have a great race today, Wendy! And I hope that that flare is subsiding.

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    1. I did have erythema migrans a few years ago. But I took prophylaxis and that was that. I don't ever remember getting bit.

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  8. I'm sorry about your flare up. I know that's frustrating. :( Good tips about ticks. We are always doing tick checks here, especially with all the camping A does. We use a lot of natural products, but not bug repellant. That needs to be the good stuff!

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  9. Oh look. Maybe I can comment again (inChrome)
    Thanks on the Lyme PSA. Have a friend with chronic Lyme and it's just miserable. Glad the pinky is OK and hope the knee follows. Glad you have the salve to help.

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  10. Glad that your pinky isn't broken. I now hope your knee is ok.

    I always wear bug spray... bugs love me. And I do use DEET because of ticks. I've never seen one... knock on wood.
    Congrats on the 5k... happy that it went so well.

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  11. Well done on your 5k! I saw it on Strava, you did awesome!
    And that while recovering form an RA flare and a niggly knee.

    Also good for you for getting up that rope again. Good news all around!

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  12. I had no idea deer ticks are so small! Thanks for the heads up - that graphic really drives the point home.

    I'm glad you didn't break your pinky, and I'm sorry about the flare. I saw your IG post about your race - congrats!!

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  13. That's great news about your pinky, but sorry about your RA flare a few days ago. I hope that you are feeling better now.

    Wow, that visual is really helpful because I had no clue how small ticks really are - that's crazy!

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  14. Yay on the good news, and I think even the bad news didn't hold you back too much during your 5K, so yay for that!

    That image with the poppy muffin really makes that point well. Wow.

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  15. I watched a film about Lyme disease (Kathleen Hanna's The Punk Singer) and then a friend came back from honeymoon with a mystery condition that the doctors said wasn't Lyme, well it was, and after I'd armed her with more info she went back and was able to get treatment (this has made me hyper-vigilant about other friends' health conditions, unfortunately!).

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    1. I diagnosed a patient with Lyme arthritis a few years ago--a young guy with knee pain and swelling. We drew blood and it was positive. I treated him with 28 days of antibiotics and he has been fine ever since! We see it a lot here, so it's always on my radar.

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